When I was in college, my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer, and cancer of the central nervous system.

My mom had brain surgeries and chemotherapy, and radiation (it was so aggressive that she spent many months in bed).

After a particularly long stretch of being bed-bound, she worked with a physical therapist to gain strength and walk for more than just a few steps at a time.

Lemme tell you: Watching my mom re-learn how to walk was a mind-flip moment.

When she was 22 years younger, she was watching me take my first step, and all these years later, it felt like I was watching her take her first steps all over again.

But here’s the tricky part: She began to sob when she couldn’t take more than a few, and felt like it was impossible for her to do what she wanted to do.

My mother–even if she didn’t say it out loud–felt like she was failing.

My dad and all my siblings were cheering her on and WE believed in her, but if she didn’t believe in herself and her first steps, nothing we said mattered.

And all these years later, here’s what I know to be true: If you don’t believe in YOU, it will never work.

• Your dreams won’t work.
• Your work won’t work.
• You’ll never get other people to believe in you.

Is that hard to hear? Does it sting? Maybe it even offends you. I get that.

But it’s still true.

In fact, if you look back at things in your life that didn’t work out the way you hoped, it’s most likely that you stopped believing.

In the project, the job, the people, the outcome, maybe yourself.

And while you can’t control things or people that aren’t you, you can control YOUR belief.

So, how? How can you control your beliefs when it feels nearly impossible at times?

I’m going to walk you through the three steps that help you rebuild unshakable belief from the inside out.

STEP ONE:  CLARITY

Most entrepreneurs get stuck because they’re still identifying as the version of themselves who struggled.

Belief doesn’t grow when you keep consulting your past…it grows when you intentionally direct your attention to who you’re becoming.

Instead of trying to become this person overnight, choose one identity shift to practice today.

Just one.

• “I’m someone who follows through.”
• “I’m someone who takes the next step even when I doubt myself.”
• “I’m someone who learns the skill instead of judging myself for not knowing it yet.”

Belief grows when your actions match the identity you want, not the identity you’re leaving behind.

STEP TWO:  PROOF

Let’s talk about evidence.  Oh how I LOVE evidence.  I went to law school so I’m obsessed with having, looking for, or finding evidence.  In a case, it’s the only thing that matters.  Not opinion, not she-said, he-said…EVIDENCE.

Belief doesn’t grow from willpower — it grows from proof.

A lot of business owners underestimate themselves because they judge their success only by the big results… instead of by the small, powerful evidence that they’re becoming the kind of person who succeeds.

So here’s what you should do: Create micro-wins.

Not giant, overwhelming promises.

Simple, doable steps.

Instead of saying  “I’ll post daily forever,” try —> “I will post three times this week.”

Instead of “I’ll change my entire offer,” try —> “I will refine one section today.”

Small wins create momentum — and momentum is how belief grows.

PART THREE:  RESILIENCE

You don’t struggle because you’re not capable.

You struggle because Success asks you to stay in discomfort…and most people were never taught how to do that.

I want you to normalize something: You are supposed to feel awkward, behind, or unqualified in the middle of your journey.

That feeling is not a sign to stop — it’s a sign that you’re in the exact place where growth happens.

If you practice these three steps, you will rebuild a level of belief that feels steady, strong, and deeply yours.

Not because you got lucky.

Not because things suddenly got easy.

But because you learned how to believe in yourself again — one aligned action, one moment of proof, and one resilient realization at a time.

Before I end, I should probably mention my mom is walking now. She turned her doubt into belief and it changed her life.

She set a powerful example for me, and I hope her story can also give you hope that you can change your future when you believe in yourself today.

Your Biggest Believer,

j*

P.S. Do you overthink overthinking? I’m basically an Olympic champion of overthinking, so I’m sharing a podcast episode of the BEST way I’ve found to lessen it and actually make it productive in my life and business. Listen to it >HERE<.